Moreya or Moriya (洩矢神, Moriya- / Moreya-no-Kami) is a Japanese god who appears in various myths and legends of the Suwa region in Nagano Prefecture (historical Shinano Province).

In addition, he is venerated as a local tutelary deity (ubusunagami) in a shrine in Okaya City near the Tenryū River, which in later variants of the aforementioned myth is identified as the place where Takeminakata and Moriya fought each other.

Local historians have long interpreted the story of the conflict between the two deities as the mythicization of a historical event in which a powerful local clan that ruled the Lake Suwa region and its vicinity (identified with the Moriya) was defeated by invaders who wrested control of the area (identified in turn with the Suwa clan, the high priestly lineage of the Upper Suwa Shrine that claimed to be Takeminakata's descendants), although a number of scholars have recently argued that it may actually be of later origin, heavily influenced by or outright based on medieval legends concerning the conflict between Prince Shōtoku and the anti-Buddhist ōmuraji Mononobe no Moriya, who may have been the inspiration for the god's name.

Before the rise of State Shinto in the Meiji period, the position of head priest or Ōhōri (大祝) in the Upper Shrine was occupied by members of the Suwa clan (諏訪氏, Suwa-shi), also known as the Miwa or Jin (神氏, Jinshi / Miwa-shi).

For a long time, the occupant of the high priestly office was revered as a god in the flesh (arahitogami), the living incarnation or "body" (shintai) of Suwa Daimyōjin.

He also had the prerogative of summoning and inhering the Mishaguji, divine spirits who figure in some of the shrine's religious rites, onto objects who will serve as their vessels (yorishiro) for the duration of these rituals and then dismissing them at their conclusion.

One version of this myth involves the Suwa deity or his subordinate defeating Moriya, described as armed with a certain kind of iron weapon or implement, using only a wisteria (藤, fuji) branch or vine.

[18][19][20][21] The story is here integrated into a medieval legend that claims Suwa Daimyōjin to have originally been a king from India who, after performing heroic feats, attained enlightenment and traveled to Japan, where he manifested himself as a local kami.

[25][10][26][27] In the petition, Nobushige claimed that "a careful inspection of the ancient customs" revealed that the Upper Shrine stands on what was once land owned by 'Moriya Daijin' (守屋大臣).

The dispute between the two eventually escalated into armed conflict, but as no winner could be declared, they competed in a kind of tug of war using hooks (kagi) made out of wisteria (藤鎰) and iron (鐵鎰), in which the Suwa deity emerged the victor.

The triumphant Suwa Daimyōjin then banished Moriya and planted the wisteria kagi in front of his newly-built dwelling, the future Upper Shrine.

In order to decide who would gain ownership of the land, Suwa Daimyōjin and Moriya Daijin fought each other using wisteria (藤鑰 / 藤鎰) and iron kagi (鐵鑰 / 鐵鎰).

[42] A version of the myth is recounted in a mid-19th century work by merchant and kokugaku scholar Matsuzawa Yoshiakira (1791-1861), the Ken'yū Hongi (顕幽本記, "Fundamental Records of the Visible and Invisible [Realms]").

Although they fought each other using wisteria and iron hooks (藤鑰鐵鑰), [Moriya] eventually submitted to the august might of Minakatatomi-no-Mikoto and swore: "I give up this land to my lord and [in exchange] will forever take charge of his political and ritual affairs."

Minakatatomi-no-Mikoto then recited the following song: 鹿兒弓乃 眞弓乎持弖 宮滿茂里 矢竹心爾 仕布麻都連與 (Man'yōgana) Kagoyumi no / mayumi o mochite / miya mamori / yatakegokoro ni / tsukau matsureyo ("Wielding your bow / made of spindle wood, / protect my dwelling (or 'shrine') / and attend to me / stout-heartedly!")

[g]A story found in a late source claims that Takeminakata and/or Moriya (Moreya) fought another local deity named Yatsukao-no-Mikoto (矢塚男命), who died during the conflict.

[50][h]A folk version of the story portrays Yatsukao, alias 'Ganigawara no Chōja' (蟹河原の長者), as a chieftain and horse breeder whose might and influence rivaled that of Moreya, one of the powerful chiefs of the region.

[52][59][60] A local folk song advises people to prepare to mow the fields whenever the following signs of incoming rain are observed: 於自理皮礼 守矢敞雲乎 巻上而 百舌鳥義智奈哿婆 鎌遠登具倍斯 (Man'yōgana) (おじり晴れ 守矢へ雲を 巻き上げて もずぎち鳴かば 鎌をとぐべし) Ojiri hare / Moriya e kumo o / maki agete / mozu gichi nakaba / kama o togu beshi "When the sun at Ojiri / pushes clouds / towards (Mount) Moriya / and the shrike (mozu) chatters / sharpen your sickles.

[m][46][63][64] As noted above, the story of Moriya being defeated by a wisteria branch / vine or an implement made from the plant is presented in some earlier texts such as the Suwa Daimyōjin Ekotoba as the origin myth of Fujishima (lit.

[68][69] Accordingly, Moreya is believed by some to be a deified indigenous priest-chieftain or clan leader who once held political and religious authority over the Suwa region.

[72] The similarity between the names of both Moreya/Moriya and the 6th century Ōmuraji Mononobe no Moriya, who opposed the introduction of Buddhism to Japan, had led to a long-standing conflation of the two figures (cf.

Despite (or perhaps because of) his officially being a living god and the Kamisha's chief priest, the Suwa ōhōri - who assumed the office during childhood - had little, if any, real power or influence in the shrine's affairs, which firmly rested in the hands of the Moriya jinchōkan,[80] with his unique ability to hear Mishaguji and call upon the god(s) to descend upon someone or something[77] and his knowledge of special rituals, which were closely guarded secrets traditionally passed down via word of mouth only to a single individual, the heir to the office of jinchōkan.